Timing
by AndAllThatMishigas
Summary: A happy ending for Henry Spencer
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: In my most recent of many Psych rewatches, I decided that Shawn's parents don't ever get much resolution. And in my neurotic need to fix everything, I've decided to get some closure for Henry and Madeleine's relationship. So this story starts at the last time we see Shawn's mom on the show: when he walks in on his parents having sex.

 **Timing**

 _Chapter 1 – post-Juliet Takes a Luvvah_

Henry returned to the bedroom to find Madeleine buttoning up her blouse.

"Is he alright?" she asked, her expression a perfect mixture of genuine concern and inappropriate amusement.

Henry growled slightly and made an ambiguous gesture before sitting on the bed beside her.

She laughed. "Oh, it went that well, huh?"

"I will never understand how he can be so smart and yet so immature."

"He's compensating, Henry. It's a defensive coping mechanism," she explained.

"He's a pain in the ass, is what he his."

Maddie smiled softly. "I think it's probably time for me to go.

Henry frowned. "Are…are you sure? If it's because of Shawn, he's an adult and he'll get over it. And if it's this…or us…" He gestured between them. "Well, we can talk about it."

"It's both of those things. And I have to go back to work."

"But I thought you were gonna stay and help out," he replied in a small voice.

"If you can make love to me like that, you've certainly healed enough from that gunshot to cook a meal for yourself and do a load of laundry," she teased. "You don't need me, Henry."

"That doesn't mean I don't want you, Maddie."

Madeleine was instantly transported back about twenty years, when she'd asked Henry for a divorce. She had broken his heart that day, and she was about to do the same thing again.

"We've never really had good timing, have we?" she realized out loud. "We fell in love while I was still in school and you were fresh out of the academy. We both ahd priorities that weren't our relationship. But when you proposed—even though I know how much debt you went inot the get me that ring and I should have made you return it—I couldn't say no. Even if it was the day before my clinical psychology exam."

Henry smiled. "I knew I didn't want to spend another day without you." _And I still don't_ , he thought to himself. "But you wanna talk bad timing…"

"I know," she laughed, "Shawn came along at the most inconvenient time. My practice was just starting. You were working those insane rookie hours."

"Yeah, I guess we've never really been great at this," he conceded.

"But I've always loved you, Henry. I've never stopped." She placed a gentle hand on his cheek.

He leaned into her comforting touch, turning slightly to softly kiss her palm. "And I love you. I'm just sorry I was never as good as you deserved. I guess it was just…"

"Timing," they said in unison.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: This chapter takes place a few months after the first. If you remember this episode, it's when Henry has a thing with that pretty plastic surgeon. But then we never see her again. Curious...

 _Chapter 2 – Post Nip & Suck It_

Madeleine's phone rang in the middle of the night. When she saw Henry's name flash, a wave of panic enveloped her heart. "Is Shawn alright!? What happened!?"

"No, Maddie, nothing happened. Everyone is fine," he said quickly. He looked at his watch and realized what time it was. "Oh jeez, I'm sorry to call so late. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Maddie sat up in bed and turned the light on. "Actually you did, but I'm awake now. If there's no emergency, there must be something on your mind."

"Yeah, actually." Henry paused, suddenly feeling very foolish for calling his ex-wife like this.

"Henry?"

"Maddie, you know I've…dated…right?"

"Since we got divorced twenty years ago? Sure, I'd hope so," she replied teasingly.

"And I'm sure you've had your fair share of men. I mean, you are an extremely attractive woman. Always have been," he told her.

She smiled. "Well thank you. And yes, I've had my fair share, you might say." She had to chuckle a little. "Henry, what are you getting at?"

"How come you never got remarried?" That wasn't why he'd called, but since they were sort of on that subject, he figured he'd quell his curiosity.

"I should think it was obvious," she replied. "I travel a lot and I work a lot and that's not conducive to married life. The more interesting question is why you've never remarried."

"Look, let me tell you why I called." He was brushing off her implied question, but his answer would be made very clear once he explained himself. "I was on a date tonight with a beautiful doctor that Shawn and I cleared of suspicion for the murder of her patient."

"You what!?"

"That's not important. Anyway, she seemed to like me, and I really liked her…"

Maddie was starting to feel the slightest twinge of jealousy, though she knew how stupid that was. Just because _she_ couldn't be with Henry didn't mean he was supposed to be alone.

Henry continued over her thoughts. "But anyway, this was the first date I'd had since the last time you were in town and…well…it didn't go well."

"What happened, did you say my name instead of hers while you were in bed?" she joked.

"We didn't even get to the bedroom. It happened when we were still on the couch," he admitted.

"Henry!"

"I know! I couldn't even blame her for leaving right then."

"So I was just fresh in your mind, or what?"

He shrugged. "Probably. Though this isn't the first time this happened."

"Your dates are that infrequent? You call a woman by my name after you've seen me?"

"No, I just miss you that much."

"Oh, Henry." She got a very distinct feeling in the pit of her stomach.

He didn't respond. He didn't have anything more to say.

Henry had revealed something very personal to her, and it was only fair that she return the favor. "About ten years ago, I spend eight months in Paris. And I was seeing a colleague of mine, and it got rather serious. He proposed to me right before I left. He wanted me to stay."

"Why didn't you?"

"Henry, I never got remarried because you are the only husband I've ever wanted. I left you because I had to do things with my life that you couldn't. I didn't leave because I didn't want to be married to you anymore. But it wouldn't have been fair to go and ask you to wait for me."

"I would have."

"I know that now. But then…I just thought it would be easier for everyone that I make it a clean break. I had no idea how wrong I was." Maddie got that sick feeling she always got when she thought about how her leaving had affected Henry and Shawn and how doing what was best for her had been so damaging to the two people she loved most in the world.

His voice interrupted her guilt. "I wish I could see you. Where are you right now?"

"Seattle. But I'll be in LA next week. Maybe you could drive down and spend a couple of days with me?"

Henry smiled. "I'd like that."

"I'll call you on Wednesday and give you the address of my hotel."

"Sounds good."

"Henry, I'm glad you called."

"Me too. I wasn't sure I should, but like I said, I've missed you."

Her whole body started to warm from the inside out. "I love you."

"I love you, Madeleine. And I'll see you next week."

After hanging up the phone, Henry couldn't help but feel hopeful that maybe, just once, he'd been able to do the right thing with Maddie at the exact right time.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Unlike the previous chapters, this one doesn't match any particular episode. It's mostly a continuation of the last chapter. If you're paying attention to this story, please review and let me know!

 _Chapter 3—One Week Later…_

Henry sat in his truck, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, staring blankly ahead.

"Sir?"

He jumped and turned to see the valet standing at the window. Knowing there was no time like the present, he got out of the truck, left his key with the valet, and walked into Maddie's hotel. She had given him the room number when they'd spoken. She'd also said they'd be having something he'd like for dinner—something special.

Madeleine had been waiting anxiously in her room, glancing between the door, her phone, and the clock every few seconds. She knew there was no reason to be nervous. Henry Spencer was the least intimidating man she'd ever known. He could be strong and forceful—he had been a cop, after all—but he was casual and straight-forward. No surprises from Henry. When they were young, that fact had become a source of resentment. But in recent years, that reliability had become such a comfort. The more she allowed herself to think about him, the more she missed him, and the more excited she was to see him.

In the silence of the hotel, she heard a very familiar awkward throat-clearing at the door. She opened it quickly to find Henry on the other side, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Maddie immediately started laughing. "Henry, why are you wearing a suit and tie?"

"You said we were going to have dinner somewhere special. And you like nice places."

"You are very sweet. But dinner is going to be special. We're having room service in about an hour. So you can change into something more comfortable, if you want. Where's your luggage?" she asked, noticing his empty hands.

"In the car. I wasn't sure if…"

"I as intending for you to stay here with me for the next two days. In case that wasn't clear," Madeleine replied with a small smile.

"I didn't want to make assumptions," he said awkwardly.

She just laughed and pulled him inside the room. "Take the tie and jacket off, and then go down and get your bags."

Henry took her hints, hopefully reading the mood correctly. He tentatively put his hands on her waist. When she didn't balk, he pulled her closer and laced his fingers at the small of her back, just like he used to all those years ago.

"The fit's a little tighter than it used to be, what with my waist about twice the size it used to be," she grumbled.

Henry gently kissed the tip of her nose. "We bot got a few more pounds and wrinkles than before, but at least _you_ still have gorgeous hair. Gorgeous everything.

She grinned. "Now don't you start that yet. We've got two more days, and I put a lot of effort into the dinner I planned, so we're going to eat it before anything else happens." She loosened his tie before letting her hands wander to his jawline, where her fingers still fit perfectly with the lines of his face.

They stood like that for a long moment, letting time slip away, back to when they had been like this so long before.

Later, they ate dinner in the little sitting area of the hotel room, devouring the Porterhouse steak for two that Maddie had specially requested. They talked and laughed, telling stories about what they'd each been doing since Henry had recovered from being shot and Maddie had left again. Henry told her all about Shawn and Juliet and Gus. Maddie spoke to their son every week or so, but he was never exactly forthcoming about his life or his cases. But it was even better hearing Henry talk about Shawn. He loved that boy so much. They'd always had a very special, complex, strong bond. Maddie was so glad they were becoming close again. She'd done so much damage to them both when she'd left. But now, just watching Henry talk about their son's accomplishments with such pride…it was almost as though no time had passed at all.

And just like they had all those years ago, a quiet and happy night between Henry and Madeleine had brought them to bed together.

Maddie sighed contentedly as she snuggled against his chest, his fingers lazily tangled in her hair.

"It's nice to not get interrupted," Henry pointed out.

Maddie just chuckled in response.

"Just like old times."

He felt her stiffen at his words. "Maddie?"

She held him tight, not sure if she could actually look at him as she explained, "Henry, I want you to know that this is no accident. I've missed you so much recently. You let me go and have all the adventures in my life that I wanted and needed that you couldn't come with me for."

"I just want you to be happy, sweetheart," he replied, kissing her hair.

"And I am happy," she assured him. "I'm happy with the choices I made. But I finally feel like I've done that. Like I did all the things I wanted. I found what I was looking for. And I know now it's getting time for me to settle down. For good this time."

Henry felt his heart grow warm. "I always knew you'd come back eventually. I always waited," he confessed.

She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her body to protect her vulnerability. "No, I can't do that."

He was confused. "What? But you just said…"

"I can't go backwards, Henry."

He frowned, trying to figure out what that meant. "Well, we can talk about that later. Let's just enjoy the short time we have now."

She leaned over to kiss him softly before settling back into that timeless embrace.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four—During "Shawn and Gus Truck Things Up"_

Maddie felt her phone vibrate in her purse and fished it out as she walked through the parking lot toward her car. She saw the Caller ID and smiled as she answered, "Hi, goose!"

"Hi, Mom."

"Shawn, honey, what's wrong?" she asked, hearing the dejected tone in her son's voice.

He sighed dramatically. "What's wrong with Dad?"

Maddie frowned. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Mom, he's selling the house!" Shawn whined.

Maddie sat down in the driver's seat of her rental car and stared straight ahead in shock. "He _what_?"

"Yeah. He's selling the house. Gus and I are in the middle of this really cool case where our favorite food truck guy got murdered and Dad won't help us because he painted the porch and there's cookies in the kitchen and I just…Mom, what the hell?"

"A food truck guy got murdered?"

"Mom! That's not the point!"

"Sorry, goose. Well, what did Dad say?"

Shawn scoffed, "I don't know, something about saying it was 'time' or whatever. It was weird. He didn't even tell me! He just…he put the house—with MY room—on the market! He's selling our house!"

Maddie tried to speak to her son in soothing tones. "Calm down, honey. You're getting all worked up over this. Did he say anything else?"

"Well, a while ago he said that you're never coming back and we all have to accept that, but that's stupid because why would you come back? You've moved on, right?"

There was a pause on the line as Maddie tried to figure out what to say.

"Mom?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Shawn. It's his house. He can do what he wants. But he's right, I'm not going back there. When I moved in during his recovery, that was different. He's doing just fine and he doesn't need me anymore."

"And you were never going to stay in Santa Barbara anyway.

"Yeah," she agreed quickly before changing the subject. "And hey, this way you can go up to San Francisco and be with Juliet, right?"

"What about Gus?"

Maddie smiled. As long as she could remember, her son and his best friend had come as a pair. "Gus will be fine. He's got his own job outside of Psych."

"No, he quit that. Finally."

"Well, your dad is moving on and maybe you should too."

Shawn didn't like that answer one bit. "No! There will be no moving on from anyone around here!" he insisted defiantly.

Maddie laughed. "Well, be that as it may, did you dad say where he was going to move once the house sells?"

"I don't know. I didn't get that far, seeing as he's selling my room with my stuff in it and I have to figure out what to sell on a food truck so we can solve a murder!"

"Shawny, go solve your case but don't forget about Dad, okay? He might say he's moving on, but he loves you and you need him more than you know," Maddie told him wisely.

"Mom, I gotta go. Gus is back. He got jerk chicken." With that, he hung up.

Madeleine ended the call and dropped the phone in her lap. Henry was selling the house. She had told him a month earlier that she wanted to settle down with him but she couldn't go back to Santa Barbara as though nothing had changed. And now he was selling the house. Even if he didn't tell Shawn explicitly, she knew Henry was doing it for her. He was taking the leap to trust her and to make a future for them together. He was selling the house. Their time would come.


End file.
